An offline access feature of sales order apps gives you full order writing capabilities regardless of whether you are connected to the internet. You can access and search your digital catalog and write and confirm the entire order. As soon as you get connected again, your order will sync to your back office and the confirmation of the order will shoot out to your customer.

Having fully functioning access to your order writing software not only means you can literally write orders and do business anywhere, but also that your experience will be seamless and you can make better use of offline time by pre-writing orders before appointments. Here are five great benefits to having offline access.

Why You Need Offline Access to Your Sales Order App

1. Your access will be smooth and bug free.

How many times have you used apps where waiting on a network connection has provided a less than stellar user experience? Whether it’s slowness, bugs, or an interrupted and choppy flow due to reliance on strong internet connectivity, an app that does not rely on a data connection provides you and your buyer a smooth and bug-free experience. This is important in an order writing environment where you are putting your best foot forward with a customer. The last thing you want is the app crashing mid-order.

2. You won’t be at the mercy of trade show internet.

Having offline access to sales order management software at a trade show means a few things. Firstly, you could conceivably get away without having to throw unnecessary money at wifi or a WiFi alternative, doing all of your order writing on the floor regardless of your connection. Secondly, even if you do spring for the trade show WiFi or a WiFi alternative, it’s possible that it won’t be consistent enough to get the job done. The last thing you want is to worry about losing parts of your customers’ orders, to waste their time waiting on your data connection, or to slow your order writing process down at all.

3. You can write orders during store visits, despite lack of access to WiFi.

Save time at your store visits where you are trying to get valuable face time with your customers by writing orders despite lack of internet access. It means you don’t need to waste time asking for your customer’s WiFi network and password details and you’re able to provide a more seamless experience overall.

4. You can pre-write or manage orders and browse reports regardless of your internet connection.

What used to be wasted down time at an airport or a cafe can now be the time you browse your customers’ order history, define your selling strategy based on reports listing their favorite items or pre-write orders in advance of your appointments. This helps you show up to your customer appointments totally prepared, and to free up time to focus more on building your face time rapport.

5. You don’t need to waste money on data service.

If you’ve been thinking about buying tablets or smart phones for your reps but are worried about the extra expense of data for all these devices, having a sales order app that doesn’t require internet service is a big bonus. It means your reps have all the benefits of order writing software but you won’t have to incur the data expense.

When evaluating sales order management solutions, make sure to check whether it includes offline access. We get a great deal of feedback on this particular feature, so we know first hand what kind of impact it can have on your business.